On December 27, 2024, it was given an official announcement that the solar installation company Sungain Solar Liquidation based in Perth had occurred. It is a unusual way to say that they had gone bankrupt. Some of their customers were abandoned because they paid deposits for solar systems and now do not know whether they get something back from their money.
In the following I tell you how you can – generally – protect yourself from companies that disappear with their deposit in the drain. I will also expressly mention the best way to protect yourself when it comes to getting solar, house batteries and EV chargers on the roof.
Good companies can also go bankrupt
While we may have reacted faster if your official liquidation announcement had not been made during the Christmas season, on December 30th we placed the following notification at the top of your solar quotes check page:
If you go to the Sungain Solar Site, you will see this picture now:
The section below, which is difficult to read, is said: “Sungain Solar recently closed. If you are an existing customer, please contact [email protected] More information. “
This is a beautiful picture of a family in front of a solar house. Now I could only be slowly in the recording here, but I’m pretty sure that the photo was taken in Slovakia – an interesting choice for a company in Western Australia. Nevertheless, I am pretty sure that Sungain did not go down the drain due to her taste on stock photos.
I don’t know why Sungain solar went out of business and I don’t really want to know the details. It’s like Tolstoy begins the novel Anna Karenina …
“Happy families are all the same. Every unfortunate family is unhappy in their own way. “1
Every company that goes bankrupt is broken in its own way.
It is an unfortunate fact that even good companies can go bankrupt – and Sungain Solar was good business. They carried out high -quality installations, and if a customer had a problem, they quickly and adequately addressed the problem. We have indicators that can show whether a company is in trouble, and they have led us to get ourselves through Sungain Solar, but we didn’t know that they would enter liquidation.
Is that a growing problem?
If you are wondering whether solar installers who go out of business are a growing problem, please insure me immediately – probably not.
The solar industry on the roof is not booming at the moment, but it doesn’t do the opposite that I would be. The “solar discount” was reduced at the beginning of this year, but that was a normal and expected part of his gradual exit. In the meantime, the installers benefited from reducing the costs for solar collectors last year.
There is always a background of companies that give the bust whether the times are good or bad. But bad times bring more business insolvises. Fortunately, the solar business is at least a little bit of a contryclical when times when times are difficult are looking for ways to save money – e.g. B. the installation of solar on the roof.
Nevertheless, economic slowdowns are not good and I hope we don’t go to one. The health of our economy depends heavily on what is going on overseas, and although I have not checked the international news lately – all the big world leaders are undoubtedly working hard to ensure future global peace and prosperity.
Never pay an excessive down payment
From the people who paid Sungain Solar deposits and never received a system, I know that there is at least one that has paid almost 100% deposit. If a company asks about an excessive deposit – especially 100% – this is a large red flag. We will not recommend using a company that asks for exaggerated deposits and we will not work with you if this is the case.
Usually you only have to pay a deposit of 10%. This is the general rule of thumb for solar on the roof. That is 10% of the total costs that you have to pay after the Solarrabatt’s application. Some states also have legal deposit limits.
If an installer asks more than the usual 10%, this does not necessarily mean that something dodgy is going on – as long as the state law allows this. There can be situations in which it is appropriate that an installer asks for a larger deposit. For example, if you live in a remote area or it is a difficult task that has to set additional devices such as a cherry picker.
But even in special cases, I generally expect that the requested deposit is no more than 20%. Everything about that would make me suspicious, while a deposit of 50% is the same, and it is a really bad idea to pay 100%. While the installer could be 100% honest, above the board and – what – above all – financially soluble, they cannot be 100% safe, and they can be terribly exposed if this is not the case.
Pay deposits with a credit card
One way to protect yourself is to pay deposits by credit card. If something goes wrong, you can request a backbook. However, the use of a credit card is no reason to pay an excessively high down payment. First, you may not be able to receive a backbook. Second, depending on the dispute, you may still have to give up your deposit and hand it over even when you receive a retraction. But note that I am not a lawyer and therefore may not know what I’m talking about here.
What to do if a company disappears with your deposit?
If you pay a deposit to a company that then goes into liquidation, the Australian securities and investment commission describes what you can do on this page. If you cannot bring your money back by a backbook, you can register as an unsecured creditor. It is possible that you could get all your money back at some point, but that often doesn’t happen. You can receive partial payment or nothing.
You may want to obtain the advice of consumer matters or fair trade in your state or area. Your numbers at the end of our site about what to do when your installer disappears.
Those who are referred by solar quotes will get their entire money back
Some who have paid for Sungain Solar have only the opportunity to register as an unsecured believer and hope that they will get back at least part of their money. But others can be sure that she will return her entire deposit over time. These are people who were referred to Sungain Solar by solar quotas.
Our goal is to simplify the purchase of solar and reduce the risk by avoiding dodgy installers. If you use our service and refer an installation program to you, we will support you with our good installer guarantee. There are some conditions and you can read about it here, but the idea is that we make sure that you get what has been promised to you. This includes solar quotes that reimburses lost deposits at our costs.
We ask people to try to regain their deposit by registering as an unsecured creditor. However, if you do not receive any of your deposit, we will give you the full amount. If you only receive a partial payment, we will make the difference. This applies not only to solar systems, but also to house batteries and EV chargers from installers that we receive.
There are about a dozen people who help solar quotas to help with Sungain Solar Deposits. Unless you can get money as an unsecured believer, it will lead to considerable costs, but it gives us skin in the game and helps us to do our jobs properly and only refer installers who do high -quality work and are solvent.
3 steps to protect your deposit
Going through solar quotes is the best way in my opinion to protect your deposit through our good installer guarantee – but of course I would say that. If you buy a solar system elsewhere, follow at least the other three steps that I have outlined to keep your deposit safely:
- Pay only more than 10% deposit if there is a good reason.
- Never pay an excessive amount;
- Always pay with a credit card.
It is unfortunate sungain solar and the company’s employees have our sympathy. They are often the most difficult when a company goes broke. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to see how these things come, and the sun will undoubtedly hire other good companies in the future. So make sure that you do not climb into the dark after your deposit when it happens to your installer.
Footnot
- Please do not leave a comment that says that this is a bad translation. I am very aware that my Russian is terrible. But I’m afraid to send him back if he is turned. ↩
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